Systems, Cabinets And Methods For Disinfecting Objects

ABSTRACT

Methods are provided that include positioning a disinfection apparatus in proximity to a cabinet, wherein the disinfection apparatus has a base supporting a germicidal source and the base includes components operationally coupled to the germicidal source for operating the germicidal source. The method further includes inserting the germicidal source into the cabinet such that at least a portion of the base is retained exterior to the cabinet and is operationally coupled to the germicidal source. Moreover, the method includes placing one or more items into the cabinet, closing the cabinet with the germicidal source and the one or more items in the cabinet and the base of the disinfection apparatus exterior to the cabinet, and then subsequently starting the disinfection source such that the germicidal source emits a germicide into the cabinet. Systems and cabinets used to conduct the aforementioned methods are also provided.

CONTINUING DATA

The present application is a continuation-in-part from pendingInternational Application No. PCT/US2017/016675 filed Feb. 6, 2017,which designates the United States and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 15/363,917 filed Nov. 29, 2016 and U.S. ApplicationNo. 62/291,024 filed Feb. 4, 2016.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention generally relates to the disinfection of objects and,more specifically to, systems, cabinets and methods for disinfectingobjects.

2. Description of the Related Art

The following descriptions and examples are not admitted to be prior artby virtue of their inclusion within this section.

In general, germicidal systems are designed to subject one or moresurfaces and/or objects to a germicide to deactivate or killmicroorganisms residing upon the surface/s and/or object/s. Applicationsof germicidal systems include but are not limited to sterilization,object disinfection, and room/area decontamination. Examples ofarea/room decontaminations system are those used in hospital rooms todisinfect the objects therein and those used in agricultural operations,such as those which are used to breed and/or farm animals. Examples ofsterilizing systems are those used for sterilizing surgical tools, foodor pharmaceutical packaging. A challenge in many applications isaccessing all surfaces of an object to insure thorough disinfection ofthe object. In particular, some germicidal systems may only effectivelytreat surfaces which are facing the germicidal system and, thus,surfaces not facing the system may not be disinfected adequately.

Furthermore, surfaces of an object which are in contact with a surfaceof another object, such as the surface of an object touching the surfaceof a table or surfaces of a plurality of objects stacked upon each otherare hidden from exposure and, thus, such surfaces are not disinfected.Objects which are particularly susceptible for being in contact withother objects are those which are relatively small and portable.Furthermore, such objects are often handled by humans, making them morelikely to have germs on their surfaces. Some germicidal systems includetrays for objects to be positioned on such that access to surfaces ofthe objects may be manipulated. Such trays, however, are labor and timeintensive in that the objects must be carefully positioned to avoidoverlapping the objects and, further, that the objects must be turnedover during a disinfection process to insure disinfection of surfacesthat were originally placed in contact with the trays.

A further challenge in many settings in which moveable equipment isused, such as in hospitals or agricultural operations, is for themoveable equipment to be adequately and consistently disinfected. Forexample, in hospitals, moveable equipment such as wheelchairs, mobilework stations, vital sign monitors and the like are frequently used and,thus, are highly prone to contamination by infectious microorganisms.Furthermore, such equipment is generally used in multiple locations inthe hospital and, thus, tracking its use, its need for disinfectionand/or insuring it has been disinfected in accordance with a setschedule can be a challenge. Moreover, the equipment faces the samechallenges as mentioned above when disinfected by a germicidal systemwhich effectively only treats surfaces facing the germicidal system.

Accordingly, it would be advantageous to develop devices and processesthat can aid in disinfecting objects, particularly accessing allsurfaces of objects during a disinfection process with minimal laborinvolved and minimal interruptions to the disinfection process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Systems, cabinets and methods are provided for disinfecting objects. Thefollowing description of various embodiments of systems, cabinets andmethods is not to be construed in any way as limiting the subject matterof the appended claims.

An embodiment of a system for disinfecting objects includes adisinfection apparatus and a cabinet. The disinfection apparatusincludes a base supporting a germicidal source that extends out from thebase. The base includes components operationally coupled to thegermicidal source for operating the germicidal source and an air movingdevice configured to draw in air from an external ambient of the base.The disinfection apparatus is configured to route the air from the airmoving device to the germicidal source. The cabinet includes a port andone or more air vents extending between an interior of the cabinet andan exterior of the cabinet. The port has a periphery that surrounds aportion of the disinfection apparatus such that when the disinfectionapparatus is operating the air moving device draws in air from anexternal ambient of the cabinet and the drawn-in air and a germicideemitted from the germicidal source is projected into the cabinet.

An embodiment of a method for disinfecting one or more items includespositioning a disinfection apparatus in proximity to a cabinet, whereinthe disinfection apparatus has a base supporting a germicidal source andthe base includes components operationally coupled to the germicidalsource for operating the germicidal source. The method further includesinserting the germicidal source into the cabinet such that at least aportion of the base is retained exterior to the cabinet and isoperationally coupled to the germicidal source. Moreover, the methodincludes placing one or more items into the cabinet, closing the cabinetwith the germicidal source and the one or more items in the cabinet andthe base of the disinfection apparatus exterior to the cabinet, and thensubsequently starting the disinfection source such that the germicidalsource emits a germicide into the cabinet.

An embodiment of a cabinet includes a first port having a dimensionallyadjustable periphery that is configured to conform to a periphery of anitem partially inserted into the first port to seal the first portagainst the inserted item. The cabinet further includes a second porthaving a door and one or more air vents extending between an interior ofthe cabinet and an exterior of the cabinet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the following detailed description and upon reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example flowchart of a method for disinfecting oneor more objects in a cabinet;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of an example shelf having nubblesfor suspending objects thereon;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an example cabinet fordisinfecting one or more objects;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic top view of another example cabinet fordisinfecting one or more objects;

FIGS. 5-7 illustrate schematic top views of different example cabinetshaving partitionable chambers for disinfection one or more objects;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example flowchart of a method for disinfecting oneor more objects in a cabinet having partitionable chambers;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example a top view of an example basket designedto hold a stethoscope;

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the example basket shownin FIG. 9 taken along axis A-A; and

FIG. 11 illustrates a perspective view of another example cabinet fordisinfecting one or more objects having a disinfection apparatus and awheelchair disposed in proximity to the cabinet;

FIG. 12 illustrates a perspective view of a system for disinfecting oneor more objects;

FIG. 13 illustrates an example flowchart of another method fordisinfecting one or more objects in a cabinet; and

FIG. 14 illustrates a perspective view of another example cabinet fordisinfecting one or more objects.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that the drawings and detaileddescription thereto are not intended to limit the invention to theparticular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within thespirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Devices and methods are provided that increase the versatility ofoperationally independent disinfection apparatuses, allow a majority ifnot all exterior sides of an object to be simultaneously disinfected andoffer a manner to determine if an object has been deemed suitable for aparticular disinfection system. More specifically, methods are providedwhich include placing one or more objects into a cabinet, placing adisinfection device into the cabinet, closing the cabinet with thedisinfection device and the one or more objects inside the cabinet andremotely starting the disinfection device to disperse a germicide withinthe closed cabinet as set forth in FIG. 1. In addition, a method isprovided in FIG. 8 for disinfection of objects in a partitionablecabinet. Moreover, cabinets are provided which are specificallyconfigured to enable such a processes as illustrated in FIGS. 3-7.Furthermore, support structures are provided which are configured toconfirm an object placed thereon is suitable for a particulardisinfection system, an example of which is set forth in FIGS. 9 and 10.Other examples of systems, cabinets and methods for disinfecting objectsare provided in FIGS. 11-14 which enable a germicidal source to beinserted into a cabinet while retaining at least a portion of a basesupporting the germicidal source exterior to the cabinet.

The objects considered for use in the methods, cabinets and supportstructures provided herein may include any configuration (i.e., shape,size, weight, material, construction, etc.) and may particularly dependon the configuration of the cabinet in which they are to be disinfectedor the support structure upon which they are to be arranged for adisinfection process. In some cases, objects which are relatively smalland portable may be suitable for some of the cabinets described herein.In particular, some of the cabinets described herein include supportstructures, such as trays, shelving and/or baskets to hold objectsduring a disinfection cycle. In such cases, objects occupying less thanapproximately 1.0 ft³ and, in some cases, objects occupying less thanapproximately 0.5 ft³ may be particularly applicable for such processes.In other cases, the cabinets described herein may be configured todisinfect larger objects, particularly those occupying more thanapproximately 1.0 ft³ or even those occupying more than 5.0 ft³. In anycase, the methods, cabinets and support structures described herein may,in some cases, be used in hospitals. In such embodiments, objects whichmay be considered for use in the methods, cabinets and supportstructures provided herein may include medical items which are keptwithin a hospital, including medical equipment and supplies. Non-medicalitems may be considered for use in the methods, cabinets and supportstructures provided herein as well, such as but not limited to pens,pads of paper, pamphlets and television remote controls. In any case,objects of the same configuration or of different configurations may beconsidered for a given disinfection process.

As noted above, FIG. 1 outlines a method for disinfecting one or moreobjects in a cabinet. As shown, block 10 includes placing one or moreobjects into a cabinet. In some cases, the step of placing the one ormore objects into the cabinet may include placing the one or moreobjects onto a floor of the cabinet. In addition or alternatively, thestep of placing the one or more objects into the cabinet may includewheeling the one or more objects into the cabinet. Either embodiment maybe particularly suitable for placing a relatively large object into thecabinet particularly those occupying more than approximately 1.0 ft³.Examples of relatively large objects may include but are not limited tomedical equipment, wheeled over-the-bed tables, intravenous poles, andcarts. Examples of a system and cabinets having configurations suitablefor placing one or more objects onto a floor of a cabinet and/orwheeling object/s into a cabinet are shown in FIGS. 11, 12 and 14 andare described in more detail below.

In some additional or alternative cases, the step of placing the one ormore objects into the cabinet of FIG. 1 may include placing one or moreof the object/s on one or more shelves arranged in the cabinet, placingone or more of the object/s on one or more trays arranged in the cabinetand/or placing one or more of the object/s in one or more basketsarranged within a cabinet as set forth in block 22. In some embodiments,the step of placing the one or more objects into the cabinet mayadditionally or alternatively include placing the one or more objects onone or more trays, on one or more shelves and/or in one or more basketsand then placing the one or more trays, the one or more shelves and/orthe one or more baskets in the cabinet as respectively set forth inblocks 24 and 25. In any case, the shelving, basket/s and/or tray/s maybe arranged at any location in the cabinet. In some embodiments, one ormore shelves, one or more baskets and/or one or more trays may beattached and/or extend from sidewalls of the cabinet and/or door/s ofthe cabinet. In addition or alternatively, one or more baskets, one ormore shelves and/or one or more trays may be hung from the ceiling ofthe cabinet. Furthermore, one or more baskets and/or one or more traysmay be arranged on a floor of the cabinet and/or may be arranged on ashelf in the cabinet.

In any case, the shelving, the basket/s and/or the tray/s considered forthe methods, cabinets and support structures provided herein includeportions which are transparent to germicidal light and/or includethrough holes. In some embodiments, the size of the through holes in theshelving, basket/s and/or tray/s may be large relative to the frameworksurrounding the through holes (i.e., the through holes may occupy morespace than the framework surrounding the through holes, such as commonlyfound in wired racks or polymer frameworks having a configurationsimilar to a wire rack). In some cases, the framework surrounding thethrough holes may be partially or entirely made of materials transparentto germicidal light. In some embodiments, regardless of whether theshelving, basket/s and/or tray/s include through holes, one or more ofthe shelves, basket/s and/or tray/s may be made of entirely material/stransparent to germicidal light. An example of a material transparent togermicidal light is quartz, but other materials may be considered.

In some cases, the shelving, basket/s and/or trays may include one ormore suspension nubbles for objects to be placed on and such that theymay be suspended above the attached shelving, basket or tray. Thesuspension nubble/s may allow a greater surface area of object/s to beexposed to germicide that is projected from a disinfection devicearranged in the cabinet and, thus, may increase the efficacy ofdisinfecting the object/s during a disinfection process. In some cases,the suspension nubble/s may comprise a material which is transparent togermicidal light, particularly for embodiments in which a disinfectiondevice to be used in the cabinet comprising the shelving, basket or trayhas a germicidal light source. In some of such embodiments, the otherportions of the shelving, basket or tray comprising the one or moresuspension nubbles may not be transparent to germicidal light or includethrough holes. In particular, in some cases, the only portion of ashelf, basket or tray made of a material transparent to germicidal lightmay be the one or more suspension nubbles. In other cases, however, theother portions of the shelving, basket or tray comprising the one ormore suspension nubbles may include a material transparent to germicidallight or include through holes. In alternative embodiments, thesuspension nubble/s may not be transparent to germicidal light.

An example shelf 34 is illustrated in FIG. 2 having a variety ofnubbles. In particular, FIG. 2 shows shelf 34 with a wire rack havingsuspension nubbles 35, 36 and 37 attached to bars of the rack. As shown,suspension nubbles 35 are conical, which may be advantageous forminimizing the amount of contact with an object placed thereon. Analternative shape for suspension nubbles may be spherical, as shown bynubbles 36 in FIG. 2. Several other shapes may be considered as well,such as but not limited to pyramids and triangular prisms. Another typeof suspension nubble configuration that may be considered for theshelving, basket/s and/or tray/s for the cabinets and methods describedherein may be a suspension nubble having a substantially flat uppersurface by which to receive an object. For example, circular wafers,such as shown by suspension nubbles 37 in FIG. 2, or any other shapedwafers may be used. Alternatively, square or rectangular blocks orinverted cones or prisms may be used. In any of such cases, thesubstantially flat upper surface of a suspension nubble may, in someembodiments, may be roughed to aid in retaining an object thereon. Inother cases, however, the substantially flat upper surface of asuspension nubble may be smooth.

Regardless of their shape, nubble/s may, in some cases, have a height ofat least approximately 2 cm. In other embodiments, suspension nubble/smay have a height of less than approximately 2 cm. In some cases, allsuspension nubbles on a shelf, basket and/or tray may have the sameheight. Such a configuration may aid in stabilizing an object that spansmore than one of the suspension nubbles for support. In otherembodiments, the height of some or all suspension nubbles on a shelf,basket and/or tray may be different. Furthermore, in some cases, ashelf, basket and/or tray may have suspension nubbles of the sameconfiguration (i.e., the same shape and/or size). In other embodiments,the size and/or shape of some or all suspension nubbles on a shelf,basket and/or tray may be different.

In any case, suspension nubble/s may, in some embodiments, be affixed toa shelf, basket and/or tray such that they are not readily removablefrom or moveable along the shelf, basket and/or tray. In yet othercases, suspension nubble/s may be attached in a manner such that they donot move along the shelf, basket and/or tray to which they are attached,but yet may be removed from the shelf, basket and/or tray by humanforce. In this manner, the suspension nubble/s may be adjusted fordifferent objects and/or different disinfection cycles. In otherembodiments, suspension nubble/s may be configured to move (e.g., slide)along the shelf, basket and/or tray to which they are attached. In anycase, suspension nubbles may include any attachment or mounting meansfor coupling to a shelf, basket and/or tray. In some embodiments, asuspension nubble may include one or more lower members that areconfigured to attach to a particular surface configuration. For example,in cases in which a suspension nubble is attached to a wired rack, thesuspension nubble may include one or more lower members dimensionallyand collectively configured to securely conform to a bar of the wiredrack. Although FIG. 2 shows suspension nubbles attached to a bars of awire rack, the use of nubbles are not necessarily so restricted. Inparticular, suspension nubbles may be attached to any surface of shelf,basket and/or tray of any configuration.

In any case, in some embodiments, the upper portion of suspensionnubble/s may include a different material than their attachment/mountingmeans. For example, in some cases, the upper portion of a suspensionnubble may include a material that is transparent to germicidal light,such as quartz for instance, to allow a greater surface area of anobject arranged thereon to be exposed to germicidal light during adisinfection cycle. The attachment/mounting means of the nubble,however, may include a different material and, in particularembodiments, may include a material which is not transparent togermicidal light. A variance in materials between the upper portion of asuspension nubble and its attachment/mounting means may be particularlyapplicable for embodiments in which the material used for the upperportion of the suspension nubble is not conducive for coupling to thematerial of the shelving, basket/s or tray/s. Alternatively, the upperportion of suspension nubble/s and their attachment/mounting means maybe made of the same material/s and, in particular embodiments, may be inthe form of a single composite material.

The term “cabinet” as used herein refers to an article for enclosing andholding one or more items, wherein the article has a door for receivingthe one or more items and for closing the cabinet, and wherein thearticle may be either moved wholly or moved by dismantling at least someof the framework of the cabinet and reconstructing the cabinet from thedismantled framework at a different location. The term is distinct fromareas of a building that are primarily bordered by fixed constructs of abuilding, such as by drywall or concrete, in that those constructscannot be dismantled and readily reused to construct a wall. Inparticular, the term “cabinet” as used herein does not refer to rooms ina building, hallways, bathrooms, or closets having fixed sidewallscomposed of materials commonly used to define interior spaces within abuilding such as but not limited to drywall or concrete. In contrast,the term is inclusive to reconstructable and/or moveable articles. Forexample, the term is inclusive to wall mounted articles, including butnot limited to backless boxes which utilize a wall of a room to form anenclosure for the cabinet. In particular, wall mounted cabinets may beeither moved wholly or moved by dismantling the cabinet andreconstructing the cabinet from the dismantled framewok at a differentlocation. Furthermore, the term “cabinet” as used herein encompassesfree-standing reconstructable or moveable enclosures. Moreover, the termencompasses reconstructable or moveable articles which utilize the floorand/or the ceiling to form the enclosure for the cabinet. As such,articles which do not include a floor and/or a ceiling but which form anenclosure with a floor or ceiling of a building may be considered hereina cabinet when the article is arranged in such a manner.

As shown in block 12, the method outlined in FIG. 1 further includesplacing a disinfection device into the cabinet. The doubled arrow linebetween blocks 10 and 12 indicates that either process may be conductedprior to the other or they may be performed at substantially the sametime. In any case, the method continues to block 14 to close the cabinetand further to block 16 to remotely start the disinfection device todisperse a germicide within the closed cabinet. In particular, a userinterface remote to the disinfection apparatus and wirelessly coupled tothe disinfection apparatus to start operation thereof may be activatedby a user outside of the cabinet.

In some cases, the disinfection device may be configured to beindependently operational from the cabinet. Alternatively stated, thedisinfection device placed into the cabinet may be configured to beoperational independent from the cabinet. More specifically, thedisinfection devices considered herein may be free-standing deviceshaving their own power source and/or a power cord for accessing theirown power. Thus, the functional features of the disinfection device neednot be coupled to the cabinet for the disinfection device to operate.Such a configuration of a disinfection device does not necessarilymandate that the disinfection device be operationally independent fromthe cabinet during a disinfection cycle, but rather that it merely hasthe configuration to do so. For instance, as set forth in more detailbelow, the cabinets described herein may, in some embodiments, include apower outlet arranged along an interior surface for receiving a powerplug and further a power cord coupled to the power outlet and extendingout from an exterior surface of the cabinet. Such a configuration may beuseful for supplying power to the disinfection device through thecabinet. In particular, a power plug of a disinfection device may beplugged into the power outlet of the cabinet and the power cord of thecabinet may be plugged into a power outlet coupled to a mains powersupply of a building. In this manner, the power cord of the disinfectiondevice need not be routed exterior to the cabinet. In other embodiments,however, the power cord of the disinfection device may be routedexterior to the cabinet, such as under a sidewall of the cabinet orthrough a hole along a sidewall of the cabinet, to directly connect thedisinfection device to a power outlet coupled to a mains power supply ofa building.

In any case, the method outlined in FIG. 1 includes terminatingoperation of the disinfection device as denoted in block 20 andsubsequently removing one or more of the object/s and/or thedisinfection device. In some embodiments, operation of the disinfectiondevice may be terminated upon receiving a signal from a remote userinterface of the device. In this manner, the timing of the terminationmay be selected by an individual. In other cases, operation of thedisinfection device may be automatically terminated after apredetermined amount of time (which may be a time preset by anindividual setting up a particular disinfection cycle in the cabinet ormay be a default time preset for disinfection cycles conducted in thecabinet). In yet other embodiments, operation of the disinfection devicemay be automatically terminated after a predetermined amount ofgermicide is detected in the cabinet as denoted in block 30 in FIG. 1and described in more detail below. In general, a disinfection devicemay include program instructions to terminate its operation based on anyone or more of such bases for termination. In some cases, a disinfectiondevice may further include program instructions to terminate itsoperation upon detecting motion of a door comprising the cabinet asdenoted in block 32 in FIG. 1 and described in more detail below.

The disinfection devices considered herein may be any device configuredto generate a dispersible germicide. In particular, the disinfectiondevices considered herein may be any device or apparatus configured togenerate a germicide in form of a liquid, a vapor, a gas, a plasma orgermicidal light. In some cases, a disinfection device may be configuredto generate more than one type of germicide. As used herein, the term“germicide” refers to an agent for deactivating or killingmicroorganisms, particularly disease carrying and/or disease producingmicroorganisms (a.k.a, germs). The term “kill,” as used herein, means tocause the death of an organism. In contrast, the term “deactivate,” asused herein, means to render an organism unable to reproduce withoutkilling. As such, a germicide which is configured to deactivate amicroorganism, as used herein, refers to an agent which renders amicroorganism unable to reproduce but leaves the organism alive.Furthermore, the term “disinfection device” as used herein refers to acollection of one or more components used to generate and disperse agermicide. In some embodiments, a disinfection device may includecomponents in addition to the component/s used to generate the germicideto effect the dispersal of the germicide from the generationcomponent/s. In any case, the disinfection devices described herein mayinclude any number of germicidal sources, depending on the designspecifications of the disinfection device.

In some cases, a germicidal source of the disinfection devices describedherein may be configured to generate a liquid, vapor, gaseous or plasmagermicide that is molecularly configured to deactivate and/or killmicroorganisms. As used herein, the phrase “molecularly configured”refers to the elemental composition of a substance (i.e., the number andtype of atoms making up a substance) to impart the function stated afterthe phrase. In some embodiments, the functionality of a liquid, vapor,gaseous or plasma germicide to deactivate and/or kill a microorganismmay be attributed to the elements constituting the germicide and, thus,such germicides may be referenced as being molecularly configured todeactivate and/or kill microorganisms. This is in contrast to liquid,vapor, gaseous or plasma germicides which impart their deactivationand/or killing functionality by the manner in which they are used. Forexample, boiling water and steam are often effective sterilizing agentsdue to the temperature at which they are employed rather than theirmolecular composition. An example of a gaseous germicide whichdeactivates or kills microorganisms by the manner in which it is used isair at a very high temperature. Furthermore, the germicidaleffectiveness of some plasma germicides is primarily due to the presenceand activity of charged particles making up the plasma rather than themolecular composition of the charged particles.

An example of a gaseous germicide that is molecularly configured to killmicroorganisms is ozone. Examples of plasmas germicides that aremolecularly configured to deactivate or kill microorganisms are thosethat employ or generate reactive oxygen species. Examples of liquid andvapor germicides that are molecularly configured to deactivate or killmicroorganisms include liquid and vapor disinfection solutions having aprinciple disinfection agent such as but not limited to bleach, hydrogenperoxide, chlorine, alcohol, quaternary ammonium compounds or ozone. Inany of such cases, the liquid and vapor germicides may be aqueous ornon-aqueous. It is noted that although germicidal sources which areconfigured to generate a liquid, vapor, gaseous or plasma germicide thatis molecularly configured to deactivate or kill microorganisms arediscussed in detail above, the disinfection devices considered hereinmay, in some embodiments, include a germicidal source configured togenerate a liquid, vapor, gaseous or plasma germicide which imparts itsdeactivation or killing functionality by the manner in which it is used,such as via boiling water, steam or heated air. In any case, examples ofdisinfection devices which may be configured to disperse liquid, vapor,gaseous, or plasma germicides include but are not necessarily limited toliquid sprayers, foggers, plasmas torchers and misting systems includingwet and dry mist systems. As used herein, the term “mist” refers to asuspension of minute globules of a liquid in a gas. For use herein, agermicidal mist is categorized as a liquid germicide.

As noted above, a germicidal source of the disinfection devicesdescribed herein may, in some embodiments, be a source configured togenerate germicidal light. The term “germicidal light” refers to lightwhich is capable of deactivating or killing microorganisms, particularlydisease carrying and/or disease producing microorganisms (a.k.a.,germs). Ranges of light which are known to be germicidal includeultraviolet light between approximately 200 nm and approximately 320 nm,particularly 220 nm and between 260 nm and 265 nm, and visibleviolet-blue light (also known as high-intensity narrow-spectrum (HINS)light) between approximately 400 nm and approximately 470 nm,particularly 405 nm. In some embodiments, a germicidal light source maygenerate ranges of light which are not germicidal such as but notlimited to visible light greater than approximately 500 nm, but suchcapability will not deter from the reference of the light sources beinggermicidal. Furthermore, a light source or lamp may, in some cases, becharacterized in the type of light it generates, but suchcharacterization need not limit the light source or lamp to generatingonly that type of light. For example, an ultraviolet lamp is one whichgenerates ultraviolet light but it may produce light of otherwavelengths. In any case, the germicidal light sources considered forthe disinfection devices described herein may be of any size and shape,depending on the design specifications of the disinfection devices. Theterms “germicidal light source” and “germicidal lamp” are usedinterchangeably herein and refer to a collection of one or morecomponents used to generate and disperse germicidal light.

Examples of germicidal light sources which may be configured to generateultraviolet light and/or HINS light include discharge lamps, lightemitting diode (LED) solid state devices, and excimer lasers. HINS lampsare generally constructed of LEDs. A discharge lamp as used hereinrefers to a lamp that generates light by means of an internal electricaldischarge between electrodes in a gas. The term encompassesgas-discharge lamps, which generate light by sending an electricaldischarge through an ionized gas (i.e., a plasma). The term alsoencompasses surface-discharge lamps, which generate light by sending anelectrical discharge along a surface of a dielectric substrate in thepresence of a gas, producing a plasma along the substrate's surface. Assuch, the discharge lamps which may be considered for the germicidalsources described herein include gas-discharge lamps as well assurface-discharge lamps. Discharge lamps may be further characterized bythe type of gas/es employed and the pressure at which they are operated.The discharge lamps which may be considered for the germicidal sourcesdescribed herein may include those of low pressure, medium pressure andhigh intensity. In addition, the gas/es employed may include helium,neon, argon, krypton, xenon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, water vapor,carbon dioxide, mercury vapor, sodium vapor and any combination thereof.In some embodiments, various additives and/or other substances may beincluded in the gas/es. In any case, the discharge lamps considered forthe germicidal sources described herein may include those which generatecontinuous light and those which generate light in short durations, thelatter of which are often referred to as flashtubes or flashlamps.Flashtubes or flashlamps that are used to supply recurrent pulses oflight are often referred to as pulsed light sources.

A commonly used gas-discharge lamp used to produce continuous light is amercury-vapor lamp, which may be considered for some of the disinfectiondevices described herein. It emits a strong peak of light at 253.7 nm,which is considered particularly applicable for germicidal disinfectionand, thus, is commonly referenced for ultraviolet germicidal irradiation(UVGI). A commonly used flashlamp which may be considered for thedisinfection devices described herein is a xenon flashtube. In contrastto a mercury-vapor lamp, a xenon flashtube generates a broad spectrum oflight from ultraviolet to infrared and, thus, provides ultraviolet lightin the entire spectrum known to the germicidal (i.e., betweenapproximately 200 nm and approximately 320 nm). In addition, a xenonflashtube can provide relatively sufficient intensity in the spectrumwhich is known to be optimally germicidal (i.e., between approximately260 nm and approximately 265 nm). Moreover, a xenon flashtube generatesan extreme amount of heat, which can further contribute to thedeactivation and killing of microorganisms.

Although they are not readily available on the commercial market todate, a surface-discharge lamp may be considered for some of thedisinfection devices described herein as noted above. Similar to a xenonflashtube, a surface-discharge lamp produces ultraviolet light in theentire spectrum known to the germicidal (i.e., between approximately 200nm and approximately 320 nm). In contrast, however, surface-dischargelamps operate at higher energy levels per pulse and, thus, greater UVefficiency, as well as offer longer lamp life as compared to xenonflashtubes. It is noted that the aforementioned descriptions andcomparisons of a mercury-vapor lamp, a xenon flashlamp, and a surfacedischarge lamp in no way restrict the disinfection devices describedherein to include such lamps. Rather, the aforementioned descriptionsand comparisons are merely provided to offer factors which one skilledin the art may contemplate when selecting a germicidal light source fordisinfection devices described herein.

As noted above, in some cases, the germicidal light source may be anexcimer laser and, thus, the germicidal light used to disinfect objectsin the cabinet may be a narrow beam of light. In such cases, adisinfection device comprising the laser may be configured to move thelaser such that multiple or all locations in the cabinet aredisinfected. Alternatively, a disinfection device may be configured todistribute germicidal light into an ambient of a room in a spaciousmanner such that at least the portions of an object in the vicinity ofthe disinfection device may be simultaneously disinfected. Thedisinfection device may be of any shape, size, or configuration in whichto achieve such an objective.

In some cases, it may be advantageous for the methods and cabinetsdescribed herein to utilize a room disinfection device. Morespecifically, the methods and cabinets described herein may, in somecases, utilize disinfection devices with configurations to facilitateroom disinfection. As used herein, the term “room disinfection device”refers to a device configured to disinfect a space which is suitable forhuman occupancy so as to deactivate, destroy or prevent the growth ofdisease-carrying microorganisms in the area. The phrase “a space whichis suitable for human occupancy” as used herein refers to a space inwhich an adult human being of average size may comfortably occupy for atleast a period of time to eat, sleep, work, lounge, partake in anactivity, or complete a task therein. In some cases, spaces suitable forhuman occupancy may be bounded and include a door for entering andexiting the room. In other cases, a space suitable for human occupancymay be an area with indeterminate boundaries. Examples of spaces whichare suitable for human occupancy include but are not limited to singlepatient rooms, multiple occupancy patient rooms, bathrooms, walk-inclosets, hallways, bedrooms, offices, operating rooms, patientexamination rooms, waiting and/or lounging areas and nursing stations.Although some disinfection devices used for the systems and methodsdescribed herein may be configured for room disinfection, the systemsand methods need not be so limited. As such, a disinfection device usedin the systems and methods described herein need not include all or anyof the features described below that are generally associated with roomdisinfection devices.

In general, a room disinfection device includes configurations todistribute an effective amount of germicide in a spacious manner to anambient of a room in which the device is arranged to maximize the numberof surfaces and objects disinfected in the room. The device may be ofany shape, size, or configuration in which to achieve such an objective.An example configuration of a room disinfection device which may beparticularly considered for the disinfection devices discussed herein isfor the germicidal source to be arranged within the device to distributea germicide approximately 360° around the source. In such cases, theroom disinfection device may be void of a component sufficient to blockthe germicide approximately 360° around the device such that germicideemitted from the germicidal source substantially encircles the device.Another configuration of a room disinfection device is to be automatedto move through a room or area while the germicidal source is projectinggermicide into an ambient of the room or area. For instance, some roomdisinfection devices include motorized wheels and processor-executableprogram instructions for activating the motorized wheels in accordancewith a predetermined route and/or in response to sensors to maneuveraround obstacles in the room or area while the germicidal source isemitting germicide/s. It is noted that although a room disinfectiondevice may include such a configuration, such a movement feature wouldnot be used in conjunction with the methods and cabinets disclosedherein.

Another common feature of room disinfection devices which may beoptionally included in the disinfection devices considered for themethods described herein is to be configured to direct germicidal lightto a region approximately 2 feet and approximately 4 feet from a floorof a room in which the apparatus is arranged. In particular, the regionbetween approximately 2 feet and approximately 4 feet from a floor of aroom is considered a “high touch” region of a room since objects offrequent use are generally placed in such a region. Examples ofconfigurations which offer such light direction are disclosed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/706,926 filed Dec. 6, 2012 and Ser. No.13/708,208 filed Dec. 7, 2012 and International Patent Application No.PCT/US2014/059698 filed Oct. 8, 2014, all of which are incorporatedherein by reference as if set forth fully herein. Other featuresspecific to room disinfection devices are disclosed in such documents aswell. For example, other features of room disinfection devices includewheels and/or a handle to affect portability for the devices. Inaddition, many room disinfection devices include configurations forremotely starting the devices such that individuals need not be presentin the room when operation of the device commences.

Another feature of a room disinfection device which may be included inthe disinfection devices considered for the methods described herein isto include configurations to distribute an effective amount of germicideto achieve at least a 2-log reduction in bacterial contamination onsurfaces within a room or area that are greater than 1 meter or even 2or 3 meters from the germicidal source. Configurations used to generatesuch an effect generally depend on the configuration of the germicidalsource, particularly the size of the germicidal source, the intensityand/or frequency at which the germicide is dispersed and the orientationof the germicidal source in the apparatus. In general, the germicidalsources considered herein may, in some embodiments, be any shape, size,orientation or configuration and may be conducted at parameters toachieve a desired reduction in bacterial contamination on surfaceswithin a room or area that are greater than 1 meter or even 2 or 3meters from the apparatus. An example of an orientation of a germicidalsource which may aid in achieving such an effect is that the germicidalsource may be vertically arranged (e.g., the germicidal source may bearranged lengthwise substantially perpendicular to a horizontal plane ofthe support structure) to aid in distributing the germicide greaterdistances within a room or area. Moreover, power fluxes of at least 1.0W/m² may be generally used to achieve at least a 2-log reduction inbacterial contamination on surfaces within a room or area that aregreater than 1 meter from the germicidal source.

In some cases, room disinfection devices may utilize configurations ofother components in the device (i.e., other than the configurations ofthe germicidal source) to aid in achieving a desired reduction inbacterial contamination on surfaces within a room or area that aregreater than 1 meter or even 2 or 3 meters from the germicidal source.For example, room disinfection devices may, in some embodiments, includean actuator coupled to the germicidal source and processor-executableprogram instructions for activating the actuator to move the germicidalsource while the germicidal source is projecting germicide into anambient of a room or area to aid in the distribution of germicide in aroom or area. More specifically, the germicidal source may be moved invertical, horizontal and/or diagonal directions via the actuator whilethe germicidal source is projecting germicide into an ambient of a roomor area. Such a configuration may, in some embodiments, be included inthe disinfection devices considered for the methods described herein andactivated during a disinfection cycle in a cabinet. In particular,moving the germicidal source within a cabinet may aid in distributingthe germicide among the different support structures in the cabinet.

Another component which is often included in room disinfection deviceswhich may be included in the disinfection devices considered for themethods described herein is a movement detection sensor and/or aroom/area occupancy sensor, such as a motion sensor, a thermal sensor, aDoppler sensor, or a photo recognition sensor. In particular, to preventinadvertent exposure of a germicide to individuals during disinfectionof a room or an area, the disinfection devices considered herein mayinclude program instructions to inhibit or terminate activation of apower supply circuit to the germicidal source upon detecting movementand/or occupancy in the area/room in which the apparatus is arranged. Insome cases, in order to use such disinfection devices in cabinets inwhich objects arranged therein are moved during a disinfection process(as described in more detail below), the disinfection devices mayinclude a switch to activate and deactivate the movement detection oroccupancy sensor comprising the device.

In other embodiments, the movement detection or occupancy sensor/s andassociated program instructions of a disinfection device may be usedwhen the disinfection device is placed in a cabinet for disinfectingobjects. In particular, the method disclosed herein may includepositioning the room disinfection device in the cabinet such that amovement sensor comprising the room disinfection device is in alignmentwith a door of the cabinet as set forth in block 28 of FIG. 1. In thismanner, if the door to the cabinet is opened during operation of thedisinfection device, power supply to the disinfection device will beterminated as set forth in block 32 of FIG. 1. In some of suchembodiments, the cabinet may be void of mechanism/s to move objectstherein. In other cases, the detection range of the movement sensor maybe such that it is limited to the vicinity of the cabinet door and,thus, objects may be moved within the cabinet without detection of thesensor. Alternatively, the cabinets described herein may have a switchto activate and deactivate the mechanism/s used to move objects arrangedtherein such that it may be used in conjunction with a disinfectiondevice having an active movement sensor.

In yet other embodiments, the cabinets disclosed herein may include analternative safety mechanism/system to ensure door/s of the cabinet areclosed when a disinfection device therein is projecting a germicide(i.e., a safety mechanism/system that does not include use of a movementsensor or an occupancy sensor comprising the disinfection device). Forexample, the cabinet may include a latch sensor on a door, which sends asignal to terminate operation of a disinfection apparatus when the doorlatch is opened. Alternatively, the cabinet may include a lock on a doorand a germicidal sensor configured to prevent the inactivation of thelock when sensing a predetermined amount of germicide in the cabinet.Other safety mechanism/system ensuring door/s of the cabinet are closedwhen a disinfection device therein is projecting a germicide may beconsidered.

In any case, cabinets are provided herein which are specificallyconfigured to enable simultaneous disinfection of a majority if not allsurfaces of one or more objects disposed therein. As described in detailabove, the cabinets include shelving, one or more baskets and/or one ormore trays, at least portions of which are transparent to germicidallight and/or comprise through-holes. As further described above, theshelving, basket/s and/or tray/s may be arranged along the sidewalls,door/s, ceiling or floor of the cabinet. In addition to such supportstructures (i.e., shelving, basket/s and/or tray/s), the cabinetsinclude a void of sufficient size to accommodate a disinfection device.In general, disinfection devices come in various sizes and, thus, thesize of the void may vary, depending on the design of the cabinet. Somedisinfection devices, particularly room disinfection devices, arerelatively large units (i.e., 10 ft³ or greater) and, thus, the voidmay, in some cases, be of sufficient size to accommodate such a device.In any case, the shelving, basket/s and/or tray/s of the cabinet areadjacent to the void and, in some cases, circumvent the void. In someembodiments, the void may centered in the cabinet, but in otherembodiments the void may not be centered in the cabinet. In any case,portions of the support structures facing the void may be transparent togermicidal light and/or may include through-holes such that objectsplaced on the support structures may be exposed to a germicide projectedfrom a disinfection device occupying the void. In some embodiments, thecabinet and/or the one or more support structures may include anautomated means for moving one or more objects placed on or in the oneor more support structures, such as a vibrator for example. For example,the cabinet may include vibrating wire racks.

An example of a cabinet having some of the aforementioned features isillustrated in FIG. 3. In particular, FIG. 3 illustrates cabinet 40having interior void 42 of at least 10 ft³, tray 44, shelving 46 andbaskets 48 adjacent the interior void, wherein at least portions of thetray, shelving and baskets facing the interior void are transparent togermicidal light and/or comprise through-holes. In addition, cabinet 40includes door 43. In some cases, cabinet 40 may include one or moreloading ports with closable doors along its exterior sidewalls to accessone or more of tray 44, shelving 46 and/or baskets 48 as an additionalor alternative manner in which to load one or more objects into thecabinet. An example loading port 45 is shown in FIG. 3 accessingshelving 46. As set forth above, interior void 42 is of sufficient sizeto accommodate disinfection device 50.

In some embodiments, the cabinets considered herein may have alignmentmarkers and/or an alignment system such that a disinfection device maybe placed in a predetermined position within the void of the cabinet asdenoted in block 26 of FIG. 1. In some cases, the alignment markersand/or alignment system may be configured such that a germicidal sourceof the disinfection device is a specified distance from the supportstructures upon which objects will be placed in the cabinet. Inparticular, some types of germicidal sources generate intense amounts ofheat and, thus, pose a risk of causing items too close to the source ofgetting too hot to touch after a disinfection process, melting orcatching fire. An exemplary range of distances that the alignmentmarkers and/or alignment system may be based on to separate thedisinfection device from the support structures may betweenapproximately 3 inches and approximately 12 inches, but shorter andlonger distances may be suitable, depending on the germicidal source ofthe disinfection device.

Various other configurations may be considered for the cabinets as well.For example, in some cases, the cabinets may be absent a floor or,alternatively, include a floor with a tapered lip such that in eithercase a disinfection device may be easily loaded into the cabinet. In thelatter of such embodiments, the cabinet may include a door extending inproximity to the tapered lip. In any case, a cabinet may include asingle door by which to load objects and a disinfection device into thecabinet. In other embodiments, cabinet may include multiple doors. Forinstance, a cabinet may include a first door for primarily loading adisinfection device into the cabinet and a second door for primarilyloading objects into the cabinet. In other cases, cabinets that havemultiple doors may not have loading designations for their doors. Insome embodiments, a cabinet may include doors on opposing sides of thecabinet.

In any case, the cabinets considered herein may, in some embodiments,include a power outlet along its interior for receiving a power plug ofa disinfection device. The power outlet may be coupled to a power cordextending out from an exterior surface of the cabinet such that thedisinfection device may be coupled to a mains power supply of a buildingwhen arranged in the cabinet. Alternatively, a cabinet may include anopening such that a power cord of a disinfection device may be routedtherethrough to a power outlet along a wall of a room in which thecabinet is arranged. In yet other cases, a cabinet may be void of suchprovisions, particularly if the cabinet is specifically designed toaccommodate a particular disinfection device that is powered by its ownbattery.

In some embodiments, the cabinets provided herein may be free-standingunits. In other cases, the cabinets may be mounted to a wall. In eithercase, the cabinets may extend to a floor of a room in which it isarranged, but in other embodiments, they may not. In some embodiments,the sidewalls and doors of the cabinets may be sealed to prevent agermicide generated from a disinfection device therein from leaking outof the cabinet. In other cases, the cabinets may not be sealed. In someembodiments, the cabinets may include a highly reflective material alongone or more of its interior surfaces, including the sidewalls, ceilingand/or floor of the cabinet, if applicable. In some cases, the highlyreflective materials may be those highly reflective to ultraviolet lightand/or visible violet-blue light. In particular, it may be advantageousfor at least a portion of the cabinets to include a material whichexhibits greater than 50% reflectance to ultraviolet light and/orvisible violet-blue light, or more specifically, greater than 85%reflectance to ultraviolet light and/or visible violet-blue light.Examples of reflective materials which may be employed include but arenot limited to metalized nylon, Teflon, aluminum, reflective paint,biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate (boPET) (e.g., Mylar), andGORE® DRP® Diffuse Reflector Material available from W. L. Gore &Associates, Inc. In addition or alternative to being highly reflective,the cabinets may include a variety of other material characteristicsalong its interior surface, such as but not limited to beingantimicrobial.

In some cases, the cabinets described herein may include one or morefans, such as shown by reference number 49 in FIG. 3, for cooling theinterior of the cabinets and/or dispersing a liquid or gas germicidegenerated by a disinfection device arranged in the cabinet FIG. 3. Theone or more fans may be arranged interior to the cabinet and/or may bearranged within the sidewalls, floor or ceiling of the cabinet. Inembodiments in which the cabinet includes one or more fans arrangedwithin its walls, the fans may be configured to drawn air in or out ofthe cabinet. In some cases, the cabinet may include an ozone reducingdevice disposed within a wall, floor or ceiling of the cabinet extendingbetween an interior of the cabinet to an exterior of the cabinet such asshown by reference number 51 in FIG. 3. In particular, ozone may, insome cases, be created as a byproduct from the use of a germicidal lightsource, specifically if the lamp generates ultraviolet light ofwavelengths shorter than approximately 240 nm since such a spectrum ofUV light causes oxygen atoms of oxygen molecules to dissociate, startingthe ozone generation process. Ozone is a known health and air qualityhazard and, thus, the release of it by devices is regulated. Examples ofozone reducing devices which may be included in the cabinets describedherein include but are not limited to a carbon filter or a device whichproduces free radicals catalysts that covert ozone to diatomic oxygen.

In some embodiments, the cabinets described herein may include one ormore germicide dose sensor/s, such as shown by reference number 41 inFIG. 3 for detecting the amount of germicide dispersed in the cabinet.In some cases, the germicide dose sensor/s may be configured to affectthe operation of a disinfection device arranged in the cabinet. Inparticular, the cabinet and/or the disinfection device may include astorage medium with processor executable program instructions to shutoff the disinfection device when a signal is received from the germicidedose sensor/s indicating that a predetermined dose of germicide isdetected within the cabinet as denoted in block 30 of FIG. 1. Inadditional or alternative embodiments, the cabinets described herein mayinclude a humidity and/or temperature control system, such as shown byreference number 47 in FIG. 3. In particular, the cabinets describedherein may include dehumidifiers and/or cooling devices to control thehumidity and temperature of the interior of the cabinet. In particular,controlling the humidity and/or temperature of an environment sometimesmay improve the germicidal efficacy of a germicidal source and, thus,may be used to optimize disinfection cycle time.

In some cases, the cabinet may include a system for identifying objectsplaced in the cabinet to ensure objects placed in the cabinet are thosethat have been deemed suitable for a particular disinfection system. Insome embodiments, a system for identifying objects may include ascanning system, such as a barcode reader or an RF receiver, that isused to identify objects placed in the cabinet having identificationtags attached thereto. In addition or alternatively, a system foridentifying objects may include a weight sensor in one or more of thesupport structures of the cabinet. In particular, a weight sensor may beused to verify whether the weight of an object placed on or in thesupport structure is in an appropriate range for what it has beenidentified as via a scanning system of the cabinet. In addition oralternatively, a support structure of the cabinet may be designated forreceipt of a particular object (or a particular type of object, such asa type of medical device) and the weight sensor may be used to verifywhether the weight of an object placed in or on the support structure isin an appropriate range for the object which support structure isdesignated. In some of such cases, the support structure may havesidewalls having a peripheral contour similar to the object for which itis designated as described in more detail below in reference to FIGS. 9and 10. In other embodiments, the support structure may not have adistinct shape, but yet be designated for a particular object or objecttype for verification purposes. In any case, the cabinets describedherein may include a system to ensure objects on the support structuresof the cabinet are not touching each other, such as but not limited to amachine vision system.

In some embodiments, the cabinets provided herein may include a userinterface. The user interface may be used for setting disinfectionprocess parameters and/or communicating conditions of various systemscomprising the cabinet, including but not limited to process parametersand/or conditions for any of the features noted above. In general, theuser interface may be configured to project audio commands (i.e., have aspeaker and program instructions for sending signals for an audiocommand to be broadcasted) and/or display visual commands (i.e., includeas screen and program instructions for displaying text or pictorialinformation thereon) for setting disinfection process parameters and/orcommunicating conditions of various systems comprising the cabinet. Itis noted that the aforementioned features of chamber 40 described inreference to FIG. 3, namely the shelving, basket/s, tray/s, userinterface, identification system, weight sensor, germicide dose sensors,humidity and/or temperature controllers, ozone filter, fans and loadingports, are optional and are not mutually inclusive.

As shown in FIG. 3 and described above, the configuration of cabinet 40is specific to having void 42 substantially central to cabinet 40 withtray 44, shelves 46 and baskets 48 arranged around void 42. The cabinetsdescribed herein, however, are not necessarily so limited. Inparticular, cabinets considered herein may have off-center void regionsfor accommodating a disinfection device. FIG. 4 illustrates a top viewschematic drawing of cabinet 60 having disinfection device 54 disposedoff-center in the cabinet, particularly in portion 62 of the cabinetopposing portion 64 having one or more objects 56 disposed therein. Ingeneral, one or more objects 56 may include object/s of anyconfiguration (i.e., shape, size, weight, material, construction, etc.).In some cases, object/s 56 may be disposed on tray/s, shelving and/orbasket/s arranged in portion 64. In some of such cases, the tray/s,shelving and/or basket/s may be arranged along interior surfaces ofportion 64 such as described for the tray/s, shelving and/or baskets ofcabinet 40 in FIG. 3. In addition or alternatively, the tray/s, shelvingand/or basket/s may be supported by a free-standing rack arranged inportion 64 of cabinet 60. In some cases, the free-standing rack mayinclude wheels or some other displacement mechanism to affect mobilityand portability of the rack. In such embodiments, the rack may bepreloaded with one or more objects 56 prior to being placed in portion64 of cabinet 60. In other cases, the rack may not include adisplacement mechanism and, in some embodiments, the rack may be securedwithin cabinet 60.

In alternative embodiments, one or more objects 56 may be placed on thefloor of cabinet 60 or the floor upon which the cabinet is arranged. Insuch cases, one or more objects 56 may not be placed on a specificsupport structure within cabinet 60. In some of such embodiments, one ormore of object/s 56 may include wheels or some other displacementmechanism to affect mobility and portability of the object/s.Alternatively, one or more of object/s 56 may be void of displacementmechanisms. In any case, to accommodate a rack or free standing objectswithin portion 64, portion 64 may include a void space sufficient toreceive the rack or free-standing object. The void space may be on theorder of greater than approximately 1.0 ft³, greater than approximately5.0 ft³ and, in some cases, greater than approximately 10.0 ft³, butsmaller void spaces may be considered.

As noted above in reference to FIG. 3, some of the cabinets disclosedherein may include a void space greater than approximately 10.0 ft³ toaccommodate a disinfection device generally configured for roomdisinfection. In some embodiments, portion 62 may include such a voidspace. In other cases, however, disinfection device 54 need not be solarge and, thus, portion 62 may be smaller than 10.0 ft³. In general,disinfection device 54 may include any device configured to generate adispersible germicide. Although disinfection device 54 may be configuredto be independently operational from cabinet 60 and/or may be configuredfor room disinfection, disinfection device 54 need not be so limited. Inparticular, disinfection device 54 may, in some embodiments, beoperationally dependent on cabinet 60, specifically that the power usedto operate the device is drawn through the cabinet. In addition oralternatively, disinfection device 54 need not include all or any of thefeatures described above that are generally associated with roomdisinfection devices.

As shown in FIG. 4, cabinet 60 may include doors 66 for allowingseparate access to portions 62 and 64. Such a configuration may easeloading of one or more objects 56 and disinfection device 54 into thecabinet. In alternative embodiments, however, cabinet 60 may include asingle door. In addition or alternatively, cabinet 60 may includeclosable loading ports along its exterior surface aligned with supportstructures in portion 64 when cabinet 60 includes such supportstructures. In any case, the door/s and/or loading port/s may bearranged along any portion of the cabinet and, thus, the positions ofthe door/s and loading port/s should not be limited to be on opposingends of the cabinet as shown in FIG. 4. Furthermore, the door/s andloading port/s of the cabinet may be hinged doors, sliding doors, orretractable doors and, thus, should not be limited to the hinged doorsshown in FIG. 4.

Although portion 62 of cabinet 60 is shown absent of object/s therein,use of the cabinet should not be so limited. In particular, one or moreobjects may be placed in portion 62 as long as they do not interferewith the arrangement of disinfection device 54. FIG. 5 illustratescabinet 70 having support structures 76 (i.e., tray/s, shelving and/orbaskets) arranged adjacent to disinfection device 54 in portion 72 ofthe cabinet. In addition, cabinet 70 includes portion 74 having one ormore objects 56 placed therein as similarly described for one or moreobjects 56 in portion 64 of cabinet 60 in FIG. 4. To increaseefficiency, it may be advantageous in some cases to successively loadone or more objects into portions 72 and 74 of cabinet 70. In suchembodiments, it may be advantageous to partition portion 74 from portion72 such that the one or more objects placed in portion 72 may bedisinfected from a germicide projected from disinfection device 54 whileone or more objects 56 are placed into portion 74. As such, cabinet 70includes moveable partition 78 to separate portions 72 and 74 of cabinet70.

In general, moveable partition 78 is configured to block transmission ofa germicide generated by disinfection device 54. In embodiments in whichthe germicide is a liquid, gas, mist or plasma, any non-perviousmaterial may be used for partition 78, such as glass, plastics, metals,or wood. In some of such cases, at least the side of partition 78 facingdisinfection device 54 may include a material which is resistant tochemical erosion. In other cases, particularly in which the germicidegenerated by disinfection device 54 is germicidal light, at least theside of partition 78 facing disinfection device 54 may include amaterial which attenuates the germicidal light. Further to havingpartition 78, cabinet 70 may, in some embodiments, include sensor 79 fordetecting when partition 78 is in position to separate portions 72 and74 of the cabinet.

Cabinets with more than one partition are illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.In particular, FIG. 6 illustrates cabinet 80 having moveable partitions83 respectively separating portions 84 and 86 from portion 82 andsensors 89 for detecting when partitions 83 are in position torespectively separate portions 84 and 86 from portion 82. In addition,FIG. 7 illustrates cabinet 90 having moveable partitions 93 respectivelyseparating portions 94, 96, 97, and 98 from portion 92. Furthermore,FIG. 7 illustrates cabinet 90 having sensors 99 for detecting whenpartitions 93 are in position to respectively separate portions 94, 96,97, and 98 from portion 92. As respectively shown in FIGS. 6 and 7,portions 82 and 92 accommodate disinfection device 54 and each ofportions 84, 86, 94, 96, 97 and 98 accommodate one or more objects 56.Moreover, each of cabinets 80 and 90 include doors 66 for respectivelyaccessing portions 84, 86, 94, 96, 97 and 98. In some cases, cabinet 80and/or cabinet 90 may include an additional door for loadingdisinfection device 54. It is noted that partitions 83 differ frompartition 78 of cabinet 70 and partitions 93 of cabinet 90 in that theyare retractable within the cabinet. The variation of the partitions,however, is not specific to the configuration of cabinet 80 nor arepartitions 78 and 93 specific to cabinets 70 and 90. Any type ofmoveable partition may be employed in the cabinets described herein,including but not limited to those shown in FIGS. 5-7 but as well asthose which move vertically from or through the ceiling of the cabinetsor from the floor of the cabinet. Moreover, portions 84, 86, 94, 96, 97and 98 need not be the same size within a cabinet.

A method of disinfecting objects within cabinets having partitionableportions or chambers, such as shown and described above in reference toFIGS. 6 and 7, is shown in FIG. 8. In particular, FIG. 8 includes block100 in which one or more objects are placed into a second portion of acabinet, which is adjacent a first portion of a cabinet having adisinfection device arranged therein or at least configured toaccommodate a disinfection device. In the latter of such embodiments, adisinfection device may be placed within the first portion of thecabinet during or after the one or more objects are placed into thesecond portion of the cabinet. In any case, the method continues withclosing at least the first and second portions of the cabinet as denotedin block 102. Subsequently in block 104, the disinfection device isremotely started to disperse a germicide within at least the first andsecond portions of the cabinet.

At some point before, during or after any of the processes denoted inblocks 100, 102 and 104, a third portion of the cabinet is segregatedfrom the first portion of the cabinet (i.e., the portion of the cabinetdesignated to house the disinfection device) using a germicide blockingpartition, such as those described above in reference to FIGS. 5-7.After such segregation, one or more objects are placed into the thirdportion of the cabinet as denoted in block 108 of FIG. 8. Due to thegermicide blocking partition, the process of block 108 may, in somecases, be performed while the disinfection device is generating andprojecting a germicide into the first and second portions of thecabinet. Such a method may be similarly facilitated for other chambersof the cabinet such that there may be a succession of simultaneousloading the cabinet with object/s and disinfecting object/s within thecabinet among the different chambers. In addition, portions of a cabinetmay also be segregated after disinfecting objects therein such that theobjects may be removed from the cabinet while objects in a differentportion of the cabinet are being disinfected.

Further to the idea of ensuring objects placed in a cabinet are thosethat have been deemed suitable for a particular disinfection system,support structures are provided which are configured to confirm anobject placed thereon/therein is suitable for a particular disinfectionsystem. In particular, support structures are provided which includesidewalls shaped to emulate a peripheral contour of a particular object,such as a medical device. The sidewalls may be sidewalls of a base of asupport structure or may extend up from the base of the supportstructure. In some embodiments, the periphery of the support structureand the areal space of the base may be slightly larger than the objectit is configured to receive. In this manner, the object may be insetwithin the support structure in cases in which the sidewalls of thesupport structure extend up from the base. In other embodiments, theperiphery of the support structure and the areal space of the base maybe substantially equal or smaller than the object it is configured toreceive. In such cases, the object may be suspended above the base ofthe support structure when the sidewalls of the support structure extendup from the base.

In any case, the configuration of the sidewalls to match a peripheralcontour of a particular object offers visual confirmation that theobject has been deemed suitable for the particular disinfection systemthe support structure comprises. In some cases, the support structuremay additionally include contour sensors along its base and/or sidewallsto electronically confirm the peripheral contour of an object placed onthe support structure matches that of the specifically shaped sidewalls.In any case, the support structure may include a shelf, basket or atray. An example of a support structure having such features isillustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. In particular, FIGS. 9 and 10 illustratebasket 110 having base 118 with sidewalls 116 extending up from the baseand shaped to match a peripheral contour of stethoscope 114. In somecases, the base and/or sidewalls may include materials transparent togermicidal light and/or one or more through-holes for the transmissionof germicide therethrough.

In some cases, the support structure may include a weight sensor, suchas shown with weight sensor 112 in FIGS. 9 and 10, to verify whether theweight of an object placed on the support structure is in an appropriaterange for what it has been designed to receive. In addition oralternatively, the support structure may include a scannableidentification tag to coincide with a scanning identification system ofa cabinet in which the support structure is to be arranged. In any ofsuch cases, the support structure may, in some cases, include a meansfor conveying information to a user of the support structure (e.g., viavisual display and/or audio commands) of the state of such variousfeatures. In some of such embodiments, the support structure may includea processor and a storage medium comprising program instructionsexecutable by the processor for activating said means for conveyinginformation upon receiving signal/s from the various features. Forexample, the support structure may include processor executable programinstructions for activating said means for conveying information uponthe weight sensor detecting a force that exceeds a predeterminedthreshold and/or upon a multiple of the contour sensors detectingcontact with an object.

As noted above, other examples of systems, cabinets and methods fordisinfecting objects are provided in FIGS. 11-14, particularly oneswhich are configured to enable a germicidal source to be inserted into acabinet while retaining at least a portion of a base supporting thegermicidal source exterior to the cabinet. In particular, FIG. 11illustrates cabinet 120 having exterior structure 122, port 124, door126 and air vents 128. As shown in FIG. 11, exterior structure 122 isconfigured such voided space 130 is arranged below port 124. Voidedspace 130 is dimensionally configured to receive and accommodate atleast a portion of a base of a disinfection apparatus and, in somecases, all of the base or the entire disinfection apparatus. As furthershown in FIG. 11, port 124 may, in some embodiments, extend out ofcabinet 12, past the exterior surface of exterior structure 172. Inother cases, however, port 124 may be inset or flush with the exteriorstructure 172.

As set forth in more detail below in reference to FIGS. 12 and 13, agermicidal source of a disinfection apparatus is inserted into port 124when the disinfection apparatus is placed in voided space 130. In orderto accommodate the insertion of the germicidal source, either port 124and/or portions 123 of exterior structure 122 above voided space 130 maybe configured to move. For example, portions 123 of exterior structure122 may include a pliable material, such as a fabric or any non-textilepliable material. In this manner, the portion of exterior structure 122above voided space 130 and port 124 attached thereto may be moved upwhen a disinfection apparatus is placed into voided space 130 and thenmoved down around the germicidal source thereafter. In some embodiments,additional portions of exterior structure 122 or all of exteriorstructure 122 may be made of one or more pliable materials. In suchcases, cabinet 122 may include a frame to support the pliablematerial/s. The frame may be exterior or interior to the pliablematerial.

In additional or alternative embodiments, portions 123 of exteriorstructure 122 above voided space 130 as well as port 124 may beconfigured to open, particularly along but not limited to a face of theexterior structure 122 and/or port 124 that is in the direction in whicha disinfection apparatus is to be received. For example, a front, sideand/or back facing portion of exterior structure 122 above voided space130 and/or a front, side and/or back facing part of port 124 may includea zipper or another type of fastener system (such as but not limited toVelcro, snaps, and magnets) to open and close adjoining flaps of eitherexterior structure 122 and/or port 124. In other cases, the front, sideor back facing parts of port 124 and/or the portions of exteriorstructure 122 above voided space 130 may include doors, particularly ifthey are made of rigid materials. In any case, closable openingsafforded along front, side or back facing parts of port 124 and/orportions 123 of exterior structure 122 may allow a germicidal source ofa disinfection apparatus being received into voided space 130 to beinserted into cabinet 122 and then surrounded by port 124 and portions123 of exterior structure 122.

In general, the size of voided space 130 may vary depending on thedesign specifications of cabinet 120. In some cases, the size of voidedspace 130 may be particularly designed for dimensional characteristicsof a particular disinfection apparatus to be used with cabinet 120. Inother embodiments, the size of voided space 130 may not be specific to aparticular disinfection apparatus. In either case, provisions, such as ashelf, may be added to voided space 130 to accommodate disinfectionapparatuses that are not tall enough to have their germicidal sourceinserted into the cabinet via port 124. More specifically, a shelf maybe placed on the floor of voided space 130 or affixed to a wall ofexterior structure 122 in voided space 130 such that relatively smalldisinfection apparatus may be used in accompaniment with the cabinet todisinfect object/s therein. Although exterior structure 122 is shownhaving support beams on the outer corners of voided space 130, thesupport beams may be omitted from cabinet 120 if they are not needed forstructural support. In this manner, there may be fewer restrictions onthe width of the disinfection apparatuses that may be received intovoided space 130. Although the cabinets described herein should not beso limited, in some embodiments, cabinet 120 may be used inaccompaniment with a disinfection apparatus configured for room/areadisinfection for the disinfection of objects therein. In such cases, ageneral and example range of width, depth and height dimensions forvoided space 130 may be between approximately 2 feet and approximately 4feet each, but smaller or larger dimensions may be considered.

As shown in FIG. 11, exterior structure 122 may be configured such thatthe floor of voided space 130 is substantially level with the floor ofthe room in which the cabinet is arranged. In particular, exteriorstructure 122 may configured such that the floor of voided space 130 isthe floor of the room or includes a flooring of cabinet 120substantially level with the floor of the room. In either case, such aconfiguration may facilitate ease for receiving a disinfection apparatusinto voided space 130 having wheels to affect its mobility, as iscommonly associated with but not necessarily limited to room/areadisinfection apparatuses. In yet other cases, the floor of voided space130 may be arranged above the floor of a room in which the cabinet isarranged. For example, in some embodiments, the floor of voided space130 may be a fraction of an inch or even more than an inch above thefloor of the room in which the cabinet is arranged. In such cases, thefloor of voided space 130 may, in some embodiments, include a taperedlip such that a disinfection device with wheels may be easily loadedinto space. In yet other cases, the floor or voided space 130 may bearranged more than a few inches above the floor of the room in which thecabinet is arranged. In such embodiments, the floor of voided space 130may, in some cases, include a ramp such that a disinfection device withwheels may be more easily loaded into space. In yet other embodiments,the floor of voided space 130 may not include a ramp or a tapered lip.

In any case, the cabinets described herein are not restricted to beingused with disinfection apparatus having wheels and, thus, in someembodiments, the floor of voided space 130 may be arranged a foot ormore above a floor of the room in which the cabinet is arranged. In somecases, a cabinet may have a voided space with a floor arranged betweenapproximately 2.5 and approximately 3.5 feet above a floor of the roomin which the cabinet is arranged. Such a configuration may beergonomically advantageous in embodiments in which a disinfectionapparatus that is easily carried by a human is used in accompanimentwith the cabinet to disinfection objects therein. In particular, havinga voided space with a floor within such a height range may inhibit thehuman from having to bend to position the apparatus in the voided space.

As noted above, exterior structure 122 is configured such voided space130 is arranged below port 124, particularly in embodiments in whichport 124 is arranged along a surface of exterior structure 122 that isparallel with a floor in which cabinet 120 is arranged. The cabinetsdisclosed herein, however, are not limited to such a location of port124. On the contrary, port 124 may be alternatively arranged along asurface of exterior structure 122 that is perpendicular with a floor inwhich cabinet 120 is arranged. An example of such a cabinet is shown inFIG. 14 and described in more detail below. In yet other embodiments,port 124 may be arranged along a surface of exterior structure 122 thatis at an angle between 0° and 90° with a floor in which cabinet 120 isarranged. In either of such cases, depending of the configuration of thedisinfection apparatus and, more particularly, depending how far adisinfection apparatus is configured to extend a germicidal sourcebeyond the confines of its base, cabinet 120 may not have a voided spaceto accommodate a base of a disinfection apparatus (such as voided space130).

Regardless of the position of port 124 along exterior structure 122 ofcabinet 120, port 124 may have a periphery that surrounds a portion ofan item partially inserted into the port. In general, port 124 may beannular, meaning it is or forms an encircling structure around anopening. Although the inner and/or outer edges of port 124 may becircular, the term “annular”, as used herein, is not limited to havingcircular outer or inner edges. On the contrary, port 124 may have innerand outer edges of any shape. In some cases, the periphery of port 124may be dimensionally adjustable as is denoted by the arrowed lines onport 124 in FIG. 11. In this manner, the periphery of port 124 may bewidened to allow an item of a particular size to be easily insertedthrough the port. Examples of materials or items which may be employedat the periphery of port 124 to impart adjustable dimensions include butare not limited to elastic rings, adjustable width clamps, and Velcrostraps. In some additional or alternative embodiments, the periphery ofport 124 may be configured to come into contact with a portion of aninserted item that has a width within a particular range. For example,port 124 may include an adjustable periphery that can adjust down to awidth within a particular range. In addition or alternatively, theperiphery of port 124 may include fasteners, such as but not limited tosnaps, magnets, and hooks or loops, for attaching to a portion of anitem partially inserted therein. In some cases, the disinfectionapparatus partially inserted into port 124 may have matching fastenersaround a designated portion thereof to mate with fasteners along theperiphery of port 124.

In some embodiments, the periphery of port 124 may be configured toconform to a periphery of an item partially inserted therein such thatthe periphery substantially seals the port against the item. The term“substantially seal”, as used herein, refers to joining multiple itemsto a sufficient degree such that there is negligible transmission offluids therethrough. For example, in an embodiment in which port 124 issubstantially sealed against a portion of a disinfection apparatus withits germicidal source inserted into cabinet 120, the term “substantiallysealed” in such a context means that that less than 1% of germicidegenerated by a germicidal source in the cabinet is transmitted throughthe joined interface of the port and the disinfection apparatus.Regardless of the manner the periphery of port 124 is configured toencircle an item, the dimensions and materials used to constitute port124 may vary depending on the design specifications of cabinet 120 and,more specifically, the dimensions of the disinfection apparatus/es to beemployed with cabinet 120. An example range of widths which port 124 maybe configured to accommodate is between approximately 6 inches andapproximately 18 inches, but smaller and larger dimensions as well aswider and narrower ranges may be considered.

In addition to port 124, cabinet 120 includes another port for loadingitems into interior space 132 of cabinet. As shown in FIG. 11, theloading port include door 126. Although door 126 is shown as aretractable rolling door, the door is not necessarily so limited. Inparticular, door 126 may alternatively be a sliding door, an accordiondoor, a hinged door or a flap door (which may be fastened to the sideedge of cabinet 120 when loading items into interior space 132). Incases in which cabinet 120 is to be used in a small or narrow space,such as a hallway for example, it may be advantageous for cabinet 120 toinclude a retractable door, an accordion door or a flap door to accessinterior space 132 to minimize the area occupied by the door whenopened. In any case, cabinet 120 may include a single door for accessinginterior space 132 as shown in FIG. 11 or, alternatively, may includemultiple doors. In either embodiment, the door/s may be arranged alongany side (i.e., the front, side or back) of cabinet 120.

As shown in FIG. 11, the floor of interior space 132 may besubstantially level with the floor of the room in which the cabinet isarranged and door 126 may extend to a floor of cabinet 120. Inembodiments in which cabinet 120 does not include a floor, door 126 mayextend to a floor of a room in which the cabinet is arranged. In eithercase, door 126 may, in some embodiments extend up to a height of 5 feetor more. Such configurations may ease the loading of items into interiorspace 132. In particular, having door 126 extend to a floor of cabinet120 or the floor of the room may ease the loading of items having wheelsor items carried into interior space 132 by a human. In addition, havingdoor 126 extend to a height of 5 feet or more may generally allow aperson to at least partially enter interior space 132 to place itemstherein. In yet other cases, cabinet 120 may have a floor arranged abovethe floor of a room in which the cabinet is arranged. In such cases, thefloor of cabinet 120 may, in some embodiments, include a tapered lip ora ramp such that an item with wheels may be easily loaded into interiorspace 132.

In any case, configurations to have door 126 extend to a height of 5feet or more and extend down to or close to the floor of the cabinet orroom in which the cabinet is arranged allows relatively large items(i.e., items occupying more than approximately 1.0 ft³ or even thoseoccupying more than 5.0 ft³) to be loaded into interior cavity 132(i.e., as long as the width of door 216 and the depth of cabinet 120 areappropriately sized to accommodate such items). Example dimension rangesof the width of door 216 and the depth of cabinet 120 to be able toaccommodate relatively large items may be between approximately 2 feetand approximately 5 feet each. Accordingly, the area of interior space132 may sometimes be greater than 20 ft³ or even greater than 30 ft³. Incases in which cabinet 120 is to be used in a small or narrow space,such as a hallway for example, it may be advantageous to limit the depthof cabinet 120 to be between approximately 2 feet and approximately 5feet and the overall length of cabinet 120 to be between approximately 6feet and approximately 8 feet. In any case, examples of relatively largeitems which are commonly used in hospitals and which may be well suitedto be disinfected in cabinet 120 include but are not limited towheelchairs, mobile work stations, vital sign monitors, wheeledover-the-bed tables, intravenous poles, carts, isolettes, ultrasounds,and ventilators.

Although cabinet 120 is shown in FIG. 1 and described above particularlyfor the disinfection of relatively large items, the features of cabinet120 described above (i.e., port 124 and voided space 130) to enable agermicidal source to be inserted into a cabinet while retaining at leasta portion of a base supporting the germicidal source exterior to thecabinet may be employed in a cabinet specifically configured todisinfect relatively small objects (i.e., objects occupying less thanapproximately 1.0 ft³ and, in some cases, objects occupying less thanapproximately 0.5 ft³). As such, in some of such embodiments, theinterior space of the cabinet may be substantially smaller than thatdescribed for cabinet 120 of FIG. 11. Furthermore, door 126 need notextend to a floor of a room in which the cabinet is arranged or extendup to a height of 5 feet or more. In some embodiments, cabinet 120 maybe used to disinfect multiple items at the same time, including anycombination of multiple large items and/or multiple small items as longas space permits in interior space 132.

In any case, cabinet 120 may include air vents 128 to exhaust heat outof the cabinet. As shown in FIG. 11, air vents 128 may, in someembodiments, be arranged along an upper portion of cabinet 120,particularly along the ceiling and/or the upper sidewalls of thecabinet, since hot air rises. In some cases, however, cabinet 120 mayadditionally or alternatively include air vents on lower sidewalls ofthe cabinet and/or along a floor of the cabinet if the floor of thecabinet is elevated above the floor in which the cabinet is arranged.Furthermore, cabinet 120 may include any number of air vents, includinga single air vent or any plurality of air vents. In addition, cabinet120 need not include air vents grouped in clusters of three as shown inFIG. 11. Thus, the location, number and relative arrangement of airvents in cabinet 120 should not be limited to the depiction of air vents128 in FIG. 11. In any case, air vents may generally include filters toprevent germicide generated in cabinet 120 from exiting air vents intothe external ambient of the cabinet.

As noted above, the cabinets described herein may include a variety offeatures, including a highly reflective material along one or more ofits interior surfaces, including the sidewalls, ceiling and/or floor ofthe cabinet, if applicable. As such, cabinet 120 may include a highlyreflective material along one or more of its interior surfaces,including the sidewalls, ceiling and/or floor of the cabinet. In somecases, the highly reflective materials may be those highly reflective toultraviolet light and/or visible violet-blue light. In addition oralternative to being highly reflective, cabinet 120 may include avariety of other features generally described above for cabinetsdescribed herein. For example cabinet 120 may include any number andcombination of shelving, basket and/or trays attached to its sidewallsand/or ceiling. Other features that are described above and whichcabinet 120 may include are door sensors, motion or occupancy sensors,alignment markers, power outlet, power cord, user interface, fans, ozonefilters, germicidal dose sensor (such as shown by reference numeral 134in FIG. 11), humidity and/or temperature control systems, objectidentification systems, and moveable partitions. The descriptions ofsuch features are referenced from above for cabinet 120 and are notreiterated for the sake of brevity. Furthermore, cabinet 120 may be afree-standing unit or may be a wall mounted unit. Moreover, cabinet 120may, in some embodiments, be a construct which is not readily mobile. Inother embodiments, cabinet 120 may be configured for mobility, such asbut not limited to being readily collapsible and/or having wheels alongits bottom portion.

As set forth above, voided space 130 and interior space 132 are sized toaccommodate a portion of disinfection apparatus and an item to bedisinfected, respectively. An example of a disinfection apparatus and anitem to be disinfected that may use in accompaniment with cabinet 120are shown in FIG. 11 with double arrowed lines indicating the apparatusand item may be positioned in and out of voided space 130 and interiorspace 132, respectively. As shown in FIG. 11, wheelchair 138 may be anitem disinfected in cabinet 120. Other items, including larger orsmaller items, however, may be considered. FIG. 11 further illustratesdisinfection apparatus 140 having germicidal source 142 extending outfrom base 144. Germicidal source 142 may include any of the germicidalsources described above for the disinfection apparatuses disclosedherein. The descriptions of such germicidal sources are referenced fromabove for germicidal source 142 and are not reiterated for the sake ofbrevity.

It is noted that germicidal source 142 and base 144 may be of any shapeor size and, thus, germicidal source 142 and base 144 should not belimited to the depiction of disinfection apparatus in FIG. 11.Furthermore, in some cases, germicidal source 142 may include a a casingaround the source of the germicide it is configured to emit and, thus,in some embodiments, both a source of a germicide and casing surroundingthe source of the germicide may be inserted into port 124 of cabinet120. For example, in embodiments in which germicidal source 142 includesa source of germicidal light, germicidal source may, in some cases,include a transparent barrier around the source of light. Thetransparent barrier may serve to protect the source of light from damageand/or provide a plenum through which a cooling fluid may betransported.

In addition to supporting germicidal source 142, base 144 ofdisinfection apparatus 140 includes components 148 operationally coupledto the germicidal source for operation thereof and also air movingdevice 146 for drawing air into base 144 from the ambient of the base.Components 148 may include any mechanisms and program instructions tofacilitate the generation and dispersal of germicide from germicidalsource 142. The number and types of components included in base 144 willgenerally depend on the germicide the germicidal source is configured togenerate and further on the design specifications of the germicidalsource to disperse the germicide therefrom. As an example, inembodiments in which the germicidal source is a pulsed discharge lamp,components 148 may include energy storage element/s, trigger voltagecircuitry and pulse duration circuitry. Regardless of the type ofgermicidal source used and its specification, components 148 willgenerally include power circuitry, a user interface and optionally abattery. If one or more operations of germicidal source 142 arecomputer-operated, components 148 may further include a processor andprogram instructions for performing the computer-operated tasks.

As noted above, air moving device 146 serves to draw in air from anambient of base 144. In general, disinfection apparatus 140 includes oneor more air inlets such that air moving device 146 can readily accessand draw in air from an ambient of base 144. The air inlets may be alongthe sidewalls, top and/or bottom of the exterior containment unit ofbase 144. In addition or alternatively, the exterior containment unit ofbase 144 may not enclose the bottom of base 144 extending between wheels149 and the lack of enclosure may serve as an air inlet. In any case,air moving device 80 may include any device configured to cause air toflow, including but not limited to a fan, pump or a turbine. In additionto having air inlets along base 144 for air moving device 146 to access,disinfection apparatus 140 is configured to route air drawn in from theair moving device to germicidal source 142. The configurations ofdisinfection apparatus 140 to affect such action may include having airmoving device 146 arranged at the base of germicidal source 142 andconfigured to expel the drawn-in air upward. In other cases,disinfection apparatus may include a duct between air moving device 146and a base of germicidal source 142.

In addition to air moving device 146 and components 148, base 144 mayinclude additional components for the operation of disinfectionapparatus 140. Example features include but are not limited to alignmentmarkers, object movement mechanisms, a power cord, one or morebatteries, a user interface, ozone filters and germicidal dose sensors.Descriptions of such features are referenced from above as discussed inreference to disinfection apparatus 50 of FIG. 3 and are not reiteratedfor disinfection apparatus 140 for the sake of brevity. In some cases,disinfection apparatus 140 may be a room disinfection device and, thus,may include one or more features commonly associated with such devices.Example features include but are not limited to automated movement ofdisinfection apparatus 140, automated movement of germicidal source 142relative to base 140, wheels and/or a handle to affect portability ofthe device, configurations for remotely starting the disinfectionapparatus, motion or occupancy sensors and door sensors.

Additional example features include germicidal source 142 arrangedwithin disinfection apparatus 140 to distribute a germicideapproximately 360° around the source and/or to a region approximately 2feet to approximately 4 feet from a floor of a room. In addition oralternatively, disinfection apparatus 140 may include configurations todistribute an effective amount of germicide to achieve at least a 2-logreduction in bacterial contamination on surfaces within a room or areathat are greater than 1 meter or even 2 or 3 meters from the germicidalsource. For example, disinfection apparatus 140 may be configured toproject a germicide from germicidal source 142 at a power flux of atleast approximately 1.0 W/m². Descriptions of the aforementionedfeatures are referenced from above as discussed in reference to featurescommonly associated with room disinfection devices and are notreiterated for disinfection apparatus 140 for the sake of brevity.

A method for disinfecting one or more items in a cabinet that enables agermicidal source to be inserted into the cabinet while retaining atleast a portion of a base supporting the germicidal source exterior tothe cabinet is shown in the flowchart depicted in FIG. 13. System 150resulting from performing such a method with cabinet 120, disinfectionapparatus 140 and wheelchair 138 of FIG. 11 is shown in FIG. 12. As setforth in blocks 160 and 162 of FIG. 13, a method of disinfecting one ormore items in a cabinet may include positioning a disinfection apparatusin proximity to a cabinet and inserting a germicidal source of thedisinfection apparatus into the cabinet such that at least a portion ofthe base is retained exterior to the cabinet and is operationallycoupled to the germicidal source. The result of such actions performedwith cabinet 120 and disinfection apparatus 140 is shown in FIG. 12 withbase 144 of disinfection apparatus 140 arranged within voided space 130and germicidal source 142. Germicidal source 142 is depicted in dashedlines to indicate it is encased within cabinet 120. Although port 124 isshown in FIG. 12 around the base of germicidal source 142 at the top ofbase 144, port 124 may alternatively be arranged around a portion ofbase 144 as long at least a portion of base 144 is retained exterior tocabinet 120.

In some cases, the steps of blocks 160 and 162 of positioning adisinfection apparatus in proximity to a cabinet and inserting agermicidal source of the disinfection apparatus into the cabinet mayinclude wheeling the disinfection apparatus into the appropriatepositions relative to the cabinet. In other cases, the steps of blocks160 and 162 of positioning a disinfection apparatus in proximity to acabinet and inserting a germicidal source of the disinfection apparatusinto the cabinet may involve a person carrying the disinfectionapparatus and placing it is appropriate positions relative to thecabinet. In either case, the step of block 162 of inserting a germicidalsource of the disinfection apparatus into the cabinet may, in someembodiments, including closing the cabinet around the disinfectionapparatus and, in some embodiments, may include sealing the cabinetaround the disinfection apparatus. As noted above, the disinfectionapparatuses considered for the systems and methods disclosed herein maybe, in some cases, configured to be independently operational from thecabinet. In other embodiments, however, a disinfection apparatus mayneed to be coupled to a power source through the cabinet in order tooperate. In either case, the methods disclosed herein for disinfectingitem/s in a cabinet, including the method outlined in FIG. 13, may, insome embodiments, include connecting the disinfection apparatus to apower source through the cabinet. Such a process may be generallyconducted any time the disinfection apparatus is in an appropriateposition for the connection to be made, such as prior to, during orsubsequent to inserting the germicidal source of the disinfectionapparatus into the cabinet.

As further shown in blocks 164 and 166 of FIG. 13, a method fordisinfecting one or more objects in a cabinet may include placing one ormore items into the cabinet and closing the cabinet. The result of suchactions performed with cabinet 120 and wheelchair 138 is shown in FIG.12 with wheelchair 138 arranged in interior space 132 of cabinet 120 anddoor 126 closed. Wheelchair 138 is depicted in dashed lines to indicateit is behind closed door 126. The doubled arrow line between blocks 162and 164 indicates that either process may be conducted prior to theother or they may be performed at substantially the same time. Thedoubled arrow line between block 164 and the space above block 160indicates that the placement of item/s into the cabinet may be conductedprior to positioning the disinfection apparatus in proximity to thecabinet or they may be performed at substantially the same time. In anycase, the process of block 166 of closing the cabinet may be performedby closing the door of the loading port after the process of block 164of placing the one or more items into the cabinet. In addition, theprocess of block 166 includes closing the port configured to receive thegermicidal source after the germicidal source is inserted therein.

Subsequent to closing the cabinet with the germicidal source and the oneor more items to be disinfected arranged therein and at least a portionof the base of the disinfection apparatus exterior to the cabinet, themethod outlined in FIG. 13 includes starting the disinfection apparatusto disperse a germicide within the closed cabinet as denoted in block168. The process of starting operation of the disinfection apparatus maybe conducted at a user interface of the disinfection apparatus, at auser interface of the cabinet or via a remote user interface (i.e., auser interface remote to the disinfection apparatus and the cabinet). Inany case, although not shown in FIG. 13, the method outlined thereinincludes terminating operation of the device and subsequently removingone or more of the items loaded therein and/or removing the germicidalsource from the cabinet. The termination process may include any of theoperations described in reference to blocks 20, 30 and 32 of FIG. 1.Descriptions of such operations are referenced from above as discussedin reference to FIG. 1 and are not reiterated for the method outlined inFIG. 13 for the sake of brevity.

The result of performing the step outlined in block 168 of FIG. 13 forsystem 150 of FIG. 12, specifically starting operation of disinfectionapparatus 140 with germicidal source 142 arranged interior to cabinet120 and at least a portion of base 144 exterior to cabinet 120, is shownin FIG. 12 with germicidal source projecting germicide 158 into theinterior of cabinet 120. The dispersal of germicide 158 may generallydepend on the configurations of germicidal source 142, but in cases inwhich germicidal source 142 is a germicidal light source, reflectivematerials along the sidewalls, ceiling and/or floor of the interior ofcabinet 120 may aid in the distribution of germicidal light in thecabinet. As shown in FIG. 12, the operation of disinfection apparatus140 also causes air moving device 146 to drawn in air 154 from theexterior ambient of base 144 and, as a result, exhaust 156 is dischargedfrom cabinet 120 through air vents 128. A benefit of the configurationsof cabinet 120 and disinfection apparatus 140 as well as performing themethod outlined in FIG. 13 with cabinet 120 and disinfection apparatus140 is that heat generated in the cabinet during a disinfection cyclemay be removed from the cabinet without the use of an auxiliary aircirculation system added to the cabinet. In particular, the systems,cabinets and methods shown and described in reference to FIGS. 11-14allow relatively cool air to be drawn in from an external ambient of acabinet via the base of a disinfection apparatus.

An alternative cabinet configuration which may be used for the methodsdisclosed herein and, particularly for use in the method outlined inFIG. 13, is shown in FIG. 14. In particular, FIG. 14 illustrates cabinet160 having a different configuration than cabinet 120 of FIG. 11, namelythe location of the port to receive a germicidal source of adisinfection apparatus, the location of the air vents and theconfiguration of the voided space. All other possible features ofcabinet 160 may be the same as described for cabinet 120 of FIG. 11.Descriptions of the possible features of cabinet 130 are referenced forcabinet 160 and are not reiterated for the sake of brevity. As shown inFIG. 14, cabinet 160 may include port 174 arranged along a sidewall ofexterior structure 172. Such placement of port 174 may be advantageousfor receiving a germicidal source of a disinfection apparatus having agermicidal source facing or extending sideways from a base of thedisinfection apparatus (i.e., rather than having a germicidal sourceextending up from a top surface of a base of a disinfection apparatus).As denoted by the arrowed lines along the periphery of port 174, port174 may include an adjustable periphery such that the periphery of theport may be widened to allow an item of a particular size to be easilyinserted therethrough, such as a germicidal source of a disinfectionapparatus and potentially a casing around the germicidal source. Asshown in FIG. 14, port 174 may, in some embodiments, be substantiallyflush with the exterior surface of exterior structure 172. In othercases, however, port 174 may be inset or extend out of exteriorstructure 172. Inset or flush ports may also be considered for port 124of cabinet 120 depicted in FIG. 11.

Cabinet 160 further includes voided space 176 below port 174. Voidedspace 176 is configured to accommodate a portion of a base of adisinfection apparatus that supports a germicidal source to be insertedinto port 174, particularly when the germicidal source does not extendpast the confines of the base supporting it. The depth of theindentation of voided space 176 relative to the side of exteriorstructure 172 comprising port 174 may generally vary and, in some cases,may depend on the dimensional characteristics of the disinfectionapparatus intended to be used with cabinet 160 for the disinfection ofitem/s therein. In some cases, however, cabinet 160 may not have voidedspace 176 below port 174. In other words, the portion of exteriorstructure 172 comprising port 174 of may alternatively extend down tothe bottom of the cabinet such that there is no indentation in cabinet160 below port 174. Such a configuration may be advantageous inembodiments in which a disinfection apparatus having a germicidal sourcethat extends past the confines of the base supporting it is used withthe cabinet to disinfection item/s therein.

Although port 174 is shown on an upper portion of an end of exteriorstructure 172, the location of port 174 need not be so restricted. Inparticular, port 174 may be alternatively arranged along a front facingor back facing side of cabinet 160 or even the end of cabinet 160adjacent door 126. In addition or alternatively, port 174 may bearranged along a lower portion of exterior structure 172 in some cases.In some embodiments, it may be advantageous for portion 174 (as well asfor port 124 of cabinet 120 in FIG. 11) to be arranged at least 12inches above a floor of a space upon which the cabinet is arranged. Inparticular, cabinets 160 and 120 are intended to be used withdisinfection apparatuses having germicidal sources extending out fromthe bases supporting them and bases of portable disinfectionapparatuses, particularly portable room disinfection devices, generallyhave a base height of at least a foot. As such, placing ports 174 and124 along cabinets 160 and 120 at least 12 inches above a floor of aspace upon which the cabinets are arranged may increase thecompatibility of the cabinet to be used with a portable disinfectionapparatus, particularly a portable room disinfection apparatus.

Although cabinets 120 and 160 are respectively depicted in FIGS. 11 and14 show ports 124 and 174 at one end of the cabinets, the location ofports 124 and 174 are not necessarily so limited. In particular,cabinets 120 and 160 may be configured to have ports 124 and 174arranged closer to a midpoint along a length of the cabinets and, insome cases, substantially at such midpoints. In such cases, cabinet 120and/or 160 modified in such a manner may include multiple areas to loadand disinfect items and/or include moveable partitions to section offmultiple areas of the cabinets, similar to the description of thecabinets shown in FIGS. 4-8.

The term “storage medium”, as used herein, refers to any electronicmedium configured to hold one or more set of program instructions, suchas but not limited to a read-only memory, a random access memory, amagnetic or optical disk, or magnetic tape. The term “programinstructions”, as used herein, refers to commands within software whichare configured to perform a particular function. Program instructionsmay be implemented in any of various ways, including procedure-basedtechniques, component-based techniques, and/or object-orientedtechniques, among others. Program instructions may be transmitted overor on a carrier medium such as a wire, cable, or wireless transmissionlink.

It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure that this invention is believed to provide supportstructures, systems, cabinets and methods for disinfecting objects.Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects ofthe invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view ofthis description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed asillustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled inthe art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to beunderstood that the forms of the invention shown and described hereinare to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments. Elements andmaterials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein,parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of theinvention may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to oneskilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of theinvention. Changes may be made in the elements described herein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in thefollowing claims. The term “approximately” as used herein refers tovariations of up to +/−5% of the stated number.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for disinfecting objects, wherein thesystem comprises: a disinfection apparatus comprising: a germicidalsource; and a base supporting the germicidal source, wherein thegermicidal source extends out from the base, and wherein the basecomprises: components operationally coupled to the germicidal source foroperating the germicidal source; and an air moving device configured todraw in air from an external ambient of the base, wherein thedisinfection apparatus is configured to route the air from the airmoving device to the germicidal source; a cabinet comprising: a port,wherein the periphery of the port surrounds a portion of thedisinfection apparatus such that when the disinfection apparatus isoperating the air moving device draws in air from an external ambient ofthe cabinet and the drawn-in air and a germicide emitted from thegermicidal source is projected into the cabinet; and one or more airvents extending between an interior of the cabinet and an exterior ofthe cabinet.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the germicidal source andthe base of the disinfection apparatus are respectively arrangedinterior and exterior to the cabinet on opposing sides of the port, andwherein a periphery of the port is in contact with the disinfectionapparatus.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the disinfection apparatusis independently operational from the cabinet.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the disinfection apparatus is configured to project a germicidefrom the germicidal source at a power flux of at least approximately 1.0W/m².
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the germicidal source is agermicidal light source.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein thegermicidal source is a source of germicidal plasma, germicidal vapor,germicidal liquid, and/or germicidal gas.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the one or more vents are arranged along an upper portion of thecabinet.
 8. A method for disinfecting one or more items, wherein themethod comprises: positioning a disinfection apparatus in proximity to acabinet, wherein the disinfection apparatus comprises: a germicidalsource; and a base supporting the germicidal source, wherein the basecomprises components operationally coupled to the germicidal source foroperating the germicidal source; inserting the germicidal source intothe cabinet such that at least a portion of the base is retainedexterior to the cabinet and is operationally coupled to the germicidalsource; placing one or more items into the cabinet; closing the cabinetwith the germicidal source and the one or more items in the cabinet andthe base of the disinfection apparatus exterior to the cabinet; andsubsequently starting the disinfection source such that the germicidalsource emits a germicide into the cabinet.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the step of positioning the disinfection apparatus in proximityto the cabinet comprises wheeling the disinfection apparatus inproximity to the cabinet.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the step ofplacing the one or more items into the cabinet comprises wheeling atleast one of the one or more items into the cabinet.
 11. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the step of inserting the germicidal source into thecabinet comprises sealing the cabinet around the disinfection apparatus.12. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of placing the one or moreitems into the cabinet is conducted subsequent to inserting thegermicidal source into the cabinet.
 13. The method of claim 8, whereinthe step of placing the one or more items into the cabinet is conductedprior to inserting the germicidal source into the cabinet.
 14. Acabinet, comprising: a first port having a dimensionally adjustableperiphery that is configured to conform to a periphery of an itempartially inserted into the first port to seal the first port againstthe inserted item; a second port having a door; and one or more airvents extending between an interior of the cabinet and an exterior ofthe cabinet.
 15. The cabinet of claim 14, wherein at least a majorityportion of interior sidewalls of the cabinet comprise a material thatexhibits greater than 85% reflectance to at least ultraviolet light. 16.The cabinet of claim 14, wherein at least a majority portion of aninterior ceiling of the cabinet comprise a material that exhibitsgreater than 85% reflectance to at least ultraviolet light.
 17. Thecabinet of claim 14, wherein at least a majority portion of an interiorflooring of the cabinet comprise a material that exhibits greater than85% reflectance to at least ultraviolet light.
 18. The cabinet of claim14, wherein the first port is arranged along a wall of the cabinet thatis parallel with the floor of the space in which the cabinet isarranged.
 19. The cabinet of claim 14, wherein the first port is along awall of the cabinet that is perpendicular with the floor of the space inwhich the cabinet is arranged.
 20. The cabinet of claim 14, wherein thefirst port is arranged at least 12 inches above a floor of a space uponwhich the cabinet is arranged.
 21. The cabinet of claim 14, wherein theone or more vents are arranged along an upper portion of the cabinet.22. The cabinet of claim 14, wherein the cabinet is arranged on a floorof a space suitable for human occupancy, and wherein the door extends toa floor of the cabinet or the floor of the space.
 23. The cabinet ofclaim 14, wherein the cabinet is collapsible.
 24. The cabinet of claim14, wherein the cabinet comprises an interior void of at least 20 ft³accessible by the second port.
 25. The cabinet of claim 14, furthercomprising a germicidal dose sensor within the interior of the cabinet.